Adobe Acrobat XI User Manual
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Security
Last updated 1/14/2015
Use the Remove Hidden Information feature to find and remove hidden content from a PDF. For example, if you
created the PDF, the document metadata normally lists your name as the author. You may also want to remove content
that can inadvertently change and modify the document’s appearance. JavaScript, actions, and form fields are types of
content that are subject to change.
Redact (black out and remove) sensitive content (Acrobat Pro)
Redaction is the process of permanently removing visible text and graphics from a document. You use the Black Out &
Remove Content tools (also called Redaction tools) to remove content. In place of the removed items, you can have
redaction marks that appear as colored boxes, or you can leave the area blank. You can specify custom text or redaction
codes to appear over the redaction marks.
Note: If you want to locate and remove specific words, characters, or phrases, use the Search & Remove Text tool
instead.
1
Choose Tools > Protection > Mark for Redaction
. (If you don’t see the Protection panel, choose View > Tools
> Protection.)
2
(Optional) To set the appearance of redaction marks, click Redaction Properties. (See
.)
3
Mark items you want to remove by doing any of the following:
• Double-click to select a word or image.
• Drag to select a line, block of text, object, or area.
• Press Ctrl as you drag to select areas of a page in a scanned document.
To preview how your redaction marks appear, hold the pointer over the marked area.
4
To apply multiple code entries to a single redaction, right-click a redaction mark and select an option. For more
information, see
Apply multiple code entries to a single redaction
.
5
(Optional) To repeat a redaction mark, right-click it and choose Repeat Mark Across Pages. This feature is
convenient if a particular header, footer, or watermark appears in the same location on many pages.
6
When you have finished marking the items you want to redact, select Tools > Protection > Apply Redactions to
remove the items, then click OK.
The items aren’t permanently removed from the document until you save it.
7
If you want to search for and remove hidden information in the document by using the Remove Hidden Information
feature, click Yes in the dialog box. Otherwise, click No.
8
Choose File > Save, and specify a filename and location. The suffix “_Redacted” is appended to the filename. If you
don’t want to overwrite the original file, save the file to a different name, location, or both.